Great safe quiet park for walking, running and cycling. A loop around using all walk paths and streets is 1.5 miles. A local group (Third Coast Runners) meets here weekly for a run / walk. Find them on facebook for meet up details. read more

Fort Travis - Parks Near Me - Bolivar Peninsula, Texas

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I crossed over on the ferry this morning and then stopped in this lovely park for a few hours to "work" from the van. During breaks in my meetings, it was nice to walk around and see what's here. As far back as 1816, there were earthworks and emplacements here. It became Fort Travis in the late 1890s as a result of the US government building it out through WWI and WWII. Concrete gun batteries still exist though the guns are of course long gone. It was acquired by Galveston County and is now a lovely park with walking trails, interpretive markers and other facilities. I'm not sure about playing ball here as the wind was quite intense. I was able to do some nice walking, take pictures and watch some of the ships in the Gulf. [Review 891 of 2024 - 646 in Texas - 21920 overall] read more

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Amazing scenery and historical land markers with information about them to read on the fort! And it's free! read more

Fort Travis - Fort Travis Bunker - Parks Near Me - Bolivar Peninsula, Texas

Beautiful park area, perfect for a picnic and a place to cool off. The Fort itself is very interesting to walk around. We did not know that the site has been Used since the mid 1850'. The sea wall is amazing especially when you consider its age. read more

This is a neat little place to go hang out when on the Bolivar Peninsula. As a Texan, I never knew this place existed and the history of it was pretty interesting. It's a great place for children to play, run around, and look at the ships going to port in Galveston. Very peaceful, and well maintained. Check it out! read more

Very interesting, historic and peaceful place. It was a nice drive and had a beautiful view of the bay.

Super cool historical site but there are some things you need to know before you go. First of all, the site is very large and there is very little shade (hardly any). Unless you go during the cooler parts of the year, it is almost impossible to walk the whole site without getting sunburn or heat stroke (or both). Be sure to wear cool clothing and lots of sunscreen. Also, on our last visit, we encountered something we have never run into before. Mosquitos. Mosquitos like I've never seen. After parking, we got out of the car and started walking. Within seconds, we were all COVERED in mosquitos. So bad that we had to RUN back to the car. And then spent the next 10 minutes trying to get them out of the car. Tried relocating to a different area of the fort but it was just as bad. They were literally swarming our car. I've lived in Texas all my life and have never seen them this bad. It was like Jurassic Park. Had to abort the entire visit to Fort Travis. I'm not sure what the solution is to the mosquito problem but in my opinion, the park should've been closed in these conditions. It was absolutely horrible. read more

Not a whole lot to look at but since it's a piece of American history we stopped by. My school aged kids liked reading the plaques and walking around the bunker. read more

This is my favorite spot to go to with friends to watch the sunset and just chill Even without them it still holds our memories Thank you fort Travis read more

I love going to repurposed recreational sites! This used to be an old military installation! The history mixed with re purposed park area/playground is well done. I would like to have seen the bunkers opened and turned into a living museum. There is great viewing points to see the passing by ships, picnic area, lighthouse views, showers and bathrooms. I wish I would hace seen pictures of the old base or a better historical layout but it was still informative and a great piece of history. Please bring your bugspray!!! There was playgrounds for the kids and plenty of things to explore. I coukd definitely spend an afternoon here picnicing and taking pictures! Definitely something to see before waiting in line for the ferry back to Galveston! This is a free attraction! read more

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We really didn't check out this place as much as we wished. There are a few building left, you can't get into, and they look modified to WWII defenses. The problem was if you got out of your car you were attacked by mosquito's. Not just your average ones, but Texas attack mosquito's that swarmed you. We stepped out of the car for 10 minutes and ended up running, and I mean running, back to the car. We each had no less than a dozen bites and then we were hitting them like crazy in the car because some of the swarm got in. We finally got the situation under control and when we looked up it was to see another family that had just pulled in making a run back to their car. So unless you can run faster than a mosquito I highly recommend you prepare yourself for this experience. We mentioned it to a local and she told us that they have used deet so long in the area that the mosquito's think of it as a cocktail. That warning given; The fort was interesting to look at as we drove by the buildings trying to get as close as possible and were able to take a few pictures. Too bad we couldn't get the real fort experience but maybe next time we will outfit ourselves in mosquito's nets and make a unique fashion statement. read more

Fort Travis - Zoom lense from car - Parks Near Me - Bolivar Peninsula, Texas

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This is a place off the grid. Well sort of. We drove right by it after we got off the ferry from Galveston. It has a lot of potential and outstanding history It is unfortunate that the government doesn't spend money to clean it up better. We visited an area that is partially fenced off - it appears vandals have sprayed graffiti. For an unusual time of year there were a couple of mosquitos. It is a nice place to view the ships who lining up coming into the harbor. If in the area it is worth a stop. You can self-tour in about 30 minutes. read more

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Good example of brick and earthen forts. Since the last hurricane, many areas are fenced off. There is a park with picnic tables and restrooms. There is view of he gulf. There are areas of the park where short legged waders are numerous, there is a bird blind overlooking a marsh. Dowitchers, godwits, turnstone, willets are present read more

We stumbled on Fort Travis while waiting for the ferry. Great place to visit. A lot of potential, but still nice to walk around and see it. Would have been great if the bunkers and other buildings had been restored and made into museums of the fort. There are a lot of informative signs around telling about the fort but would have been great to go inside the facilities and see just how things were back with the fort was active. read more

An interesting place to wander about. A good park and picnic area. There are some oldish military buildings and trail to explore. The view of Galveston, and all the ships going to and from Port Houston is a sight. That is about it. Bring the family for a history and picnic for a day just to brake up a full week at the beach. Sooner or later, I just need to get back a bake in the sand though. read more

We love this place! It's huge and you can roam all about, play field games, explore, watch the ships and birds, read the history and more. There are covered areas with tables, the restrooms are clean and there is a staffed park office. We've been twice now since relocating to Houston a few months ago and still haven't explored it all. It's a peaceful place, one can sit on top of one of the bunkers and just watch what's going on in the area. It's right on the Gulf and near the shipping channel so lots to see. read more

We stumbled upon this park after taking the Galveston/Port Bolivar Ferry. It feels a bit like the park service had greater ambitions for preserving the ruins of the fort but maybe haven't found the funding needed. The three batteries all stand in different levels of decay and are mostly fenced off but you can walk around them and get close to some of them. There are historical placards describing the basic history of the Fort, and sidewalks going around the perimeter and connecting the batteries. Signs say to not climb up on the remains of the fort, but I feel like it would be pretty irresistible to young children to go at least a little ways up the side of the hills. There is a playground on the far end of the park as well as bathrooms, so if you just want something to do or a place to get out and stretch after riding the ferry this is a great spot. It appears that camping is allowed even on the northern corner of the park. The seawall surrounding the area is pretty interesting, in that it seems to have been built shortly after the hurricane of 1900 at great expense and effort. It is hard to imagine how it was constructed with only the available tools and machines of that time, given its size. read more

Remnants of the old seaside fort still remain. Better than some old sites, but not a whole lot to see. You can check it all out on foot, read all of the sign information and be on your way in just a few minutes. read more